Peterman's chance is a dream come true, but says he 'has to earn it every day'

The new Bills starting quarterback talked about what's prepared him for this moment

Nathan Peterman always knew the day would come. He just didn’t know when.

Now, it’s here.

“I think you always kind of expect to have your opportunity. I knew my opportunity was going to come sometime,” Peterman told reporters after being named the starting quarterback for the Buffalo Bills this week. “So for this to be it, I am trying to be ready and I’ve tried to be ready since the first day I stepped here in this facility. Just trying to work hard this week and get ready for the Chargers.”

Peterman takes over for Tyrod Taylor and will lead the 5-4 Bills into Los Angeles Sunday afternoon to face the 3-6 Chargers.

Even though Peterman may have been expecting the chance to be a starting quarterback to come his way some day, that didn’t take away from the gravity of the news when he was told by head coach Sean McDermott.

“It was pretty emotional, a little bit, trying not to show it obviously,” he said. “It’s a dream come true, obviously, to get this opportunity. I’ve been through a lot, I think, to get here, too. It’s certainly not done, though, at all. It’s a great opportunity, but it’s still all in front of me. I’ve got to go work to earn it.”

The rookie has been through a lot, as he said, starting with when he was in college at the University of Tennessee.

In his very first start for the Volunteers, as a freshman, Peterman broke his hand and didn’t play another snap the rest of the season. Then as a sophomore, he was benched after only a couple series’ in his first start. He never got the starting quarterback job back. He transferred to Pittsburgh the following year, where he began the season as the backup, but became the starter three games into the season and kept it for the rest of his junior and senior years.

It’s all that experience, from being benched to taking over for someone else, that Peterman says has prepared him for this situation.

“For sure, you go through a lot in college,” he said. “A lot of foundational times that I think certainly helped me to get to where I’m at now. Like you said, I’ve been through both of these situations on both sides of them. I think it’s very helpful for me and probably Tyrod, I’m sure. We have a great relationship still. I can keep pushing through and know that I have to earn it every day. That’s the mentality I’m taking and I’m going to keep working.”

But now all of that is behind him. Where Peterman has been, and what he’s been through has prepared him. But now it’s about what he does with his chance.

“It’s only an opportunity,” he noted. “It’s awesome because it is kind of uncontrollable in a sense, that you can’t necessarily control when you are going to play. It’s just one step and I think I’ve got to keep working."